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2016 Nice truck attack

Coordinates: 43°41′37″N 7°15′21″E / 43.6936°N 7.2557°E / 43.6936; 7.2557
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2016 Nice attack
Part of Terrorism in France
The Promenade des Anglais (between the motorway and the beach), where the attack took place
Route of the attacker from west to east
LocationPromenade des Anglais, Nice, France
Coordinates43°41′37″N 7°15′21″E / 43.6936°N 7.2557°E / 43.6936; 7.2557
Date14 July 2016 (2016-07-14) (Bastille Day)
c. 22:40 CEST (UTC+02:00)
Attack type
Vehicular assault
WeaponsCargo truck and a handgun
Deaths84+ (including the perpetrator)[1][2]
Injured202 (52 critically)[1][3]
PerpetratorMohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel

On the evening of 14 July 2016, Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, a Tunisian/French,[4][5] deliberately drove a cargo truck into crowds celebrating Bastille Day on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, France, killing at least 84 and injuring many more.[6][7] He was shot and killed by police. This was the third major terrorist attack in France since January 2015, following the Île-de-France attacks on 7–9 January 2015 and the subsequent coordinated Paris attacks on 13 November 2015.[8]

Background

Context

On the morning before the attack, French President François Hollande reaffirmed that the state of emergency put in place after the November 2015 Paris attacks would end after the Tour de France finished on 26 July 2016.[9] France had just finished hosting the Euro 2016 football tournament, during which the country had extensive security measures in place and deployed many more soldiers.

This attack follows a series of vehicle attacks on civilians, including the 2014 Dijon attack and the 2014 Nantes attack; both ISIL and Al-Qaeda have encouraged sympathizers living in Western countries to carry out such attacks.[10] More than 20 ideologically-motivated, lone wolf, vehicle attacks have been carried out in Western countries during the past decade, including the pair of attacks in France, one the day after the other, in 2014.[11]

Perpetrator

Main article: Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel

After the attack, French media identified the perpetrator as Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, a 31-year-old man of Tunisian and French nationality.[12] According to police reports, he was born in Tunisia, had a French residency permit and lived in Nice.[13] He was married with three children, but in the process of divorce. He was reported to have had financial difficulties and to have worked as a driver, acquiring a truck permit less than a year before the attack.[12]

According to media reports, Bouhlel was known to police for five prior criminal offenses, notably regarding armed violence. He was last arrested less than a month before the attack after a traffic accident in which he had been sleeping at the wheel, and remained subject to judicial supervision. He was, however, not registered as a national security risk (fiche "S") with French authorities.[12]

Bouhlel's parents are divorced and live in France. Reports say that Bouhlel often used to visit Tunisia, saying the last time he did so was eight months ago, before he went back to France. He was not known by Tunisian authorities to have been involved in any terrorism activities on Tunisian soil. However, he was known to the authorities in connection with drugs- and alcohol-related offences.[6]

Attack

File:Palais de la Méditerranée.jpg
The Palais de la Mediterranée, where the attack was stopped
The Hotel Negresco on the route of the truck, later used as a clearing house for the injured.

On the evening of 14 July 2016, thousands of people had gathered along the waterfront of Nice, France, to watch the Bastille Day firework display. The mood of the crowd was celebratory.[14] At approximately 22:10 CEST (20:10 UTC), 30 minutes before the incident, a large white cargo truck was seen approaching the Promenade des Anglais. "He was speeding up, braking, speeding up again and braking again. We thought it was weird," said Laicia Baroi, an eyewitness.[14] The truck then doubled back towards the airport and breached the vehicle barriers opposite the Lenval children's hospital.[14] The truck was moving slowly and a motorcyclist pulled up alongside and tried to open the truck door.[14] The truck ran over the motorcyclist after he fell off.[14] Watching this, two nearby police officers opened fire on the truck.[14] At this point the driver sped up towards the Promenade.[14]

The fireworks were just finishing at approximately 22:40 CEST (20:40 UTC),[15] when the truck, moving at high speed, plunged into the crowds on the Promenade. It was swerving to hit pedestrians.[14] Police tried to stop it with gunfire, and the driver shot back at them, as well as at people in the crowd.[14] It was reported the driver shouted "Allahu Akbar!".[16][17]

The truck continued for two kilometers (1.25 miles), killing and injuring pedestrians. Police surrounded it near the luxury Palais de la Méditerranée hotel.[14] The truck was raked with gunfire and the driver inside killed.[14][18] Bouhlel's identity papers were found in the truck.[12]

Victims

Nationalities of victims
Nationality Dead Injured Ref.
 Algeria 3 [19]
 Armenia 1 [20][21]
 Australia 3 [22]
 Belgium 1 [23]
 China 2 [24]
 Estonia 2 [25]
 France 5 [26]
 Germany 3 [27]
 Ireland 1 [28]
 Kazakhstan 1 [23]
 Morocco 3 [29]
 Poland 2 [30]
 Portugal 1 [31]
 Russia 2 1 [32][19]
  Switzerland 2 [20][23]
 Tunisia 3 [19][33]
 Ukraine 1 2 [34]
 United Kingdom 1 [19]
 United States 2 [20][35]
Currently unknown 56 190
Total 84+ 202 [36]

In total, there have been 84 deaths from the attack and 50 people are receiving emergency treatment for their injuries.[36] As well as the many French people killed, several foreigners were also among the dead.[20][37][38] There were reportedly many Muslims who were among the 84 people killed in the attack, according to a journalist who saw several people with scarves or speaking Arabic.[39][40][41]

Suspected terrorist links

A preliminary investigation by French officials has not connected Bouhlel to any international terror groups.[42] The French prosecutor stated that the attack "bore the hallmarks of jihadist terrorism" and that no group had claimed responsibility for the attack.[43]

Reactions

Immediately after the attack, when it remained unclear whether the threat had ended, people used social media, particularly Twitter, to help others find shelter, using the hashtag #PortesOuvertesNice (open doors Nice), a variation of a hashtag used in other recent attacks in France.[44][45][46]

Domestic

President François Hollande returned to Paris from Avignon to have an emergency Interior Ministry meeting regarding the attacks.[47] Hollande addressed the French nation in a televised broadcast from Paris in the early morning of 15 July 2016 announcing future measures against terrorism, including a three-month extension of the state of emergency, previously due to end on 26 July.[43] He also announced that more security personnel would be deployed.[48] The Prime Minister of France Manuel Valls later announced that there would be three days of national mourning on 16–18 July.[43]

Minister of the Interior Bernard Cazeneuve initiated the ORSEC plan immediately following the attacks.[49]

International

Main article: International reactions to the 2016 Nice attack

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "EN DIRECT – Attentat sur la promenade des Anglais à Nice". Le Figaro (in French). France. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  2. ^ "Terror Attack on Nice: At Least 80 Dead After Grenade-Filled Truck Plows Into Crowd, Officials Say". ABC. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  3. ^ "Latest updates on France lorry attack". BBC. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  4. ^ "Attentat de Nice : ce que l'on sait du chauffeur, Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel". Nouvel Obs (in French). Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  5. ^ "Attentat à Nice : le suspect a été formellement identifié" (in French). Europe1. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  6. ^ a b "Nice attack: Dozens killed during Bastille Day celebrations". BBC. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  7. ^ "Attentat à Nice: au coins 84 persons tunes par le camion fou". Paris Match (in French). Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  8. ^ Breeden, Alissa J. Rubin, Adam Nossiter, Aurelien; Blaise, Lilia (15 July 2016). "Death Toll From Terrorist Attack in Nice, France, Rises to 84". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 15 July 2016.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ "Hollande confirms the end of a state of emergency after the Tour de France". Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  10. ^ Bergen, Peter (15 July 2016). "Truck attacks -- a frightening tool of terror, with a history". CNN. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  11. ^ Martin, Patrick (15 July 2016). "History of lone-wolf vehicle attacks suggests risk of emulation is very real". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  12. ^ a b c d "Attentat de Nice : ce que l'on sait du tueur du 14 juillet". Atlantico (in French). 15 July 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  13. ^ "Attentat à Nice : le suspect a été formellement identifié" (in French). Europe1. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Nice attack: What we know of the Bastille Day killings". BBC News. 15 July 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  15. ^ "At least 74 killed as truck plows into crowd in Nice, France, on Bastille Day". The Jerusalem Post.
  16. ^ Boyle, Darren; Tonkin, Sam (14 July 2016). "Gun and truck attack leaves at least 80 dead in Nice: Men, women and kids strewn across road after lorry speeds for a MILE through holiday crowd watching fireworks, before gunman opens fire". Daily Mail. Retrieved 15 July 2016. Pro-ISIS groups have been celebrating the attack, orchestrated to coincide with France's most important national holiday, but as yet the terror group has not officially claimed responsibility.
  17. ^ Henderson, Barney; Graham, Graham (14 July 2016). "84 killed in Nice by lorry during Bastille Day celebrations - how the attack unfolded". The Telegraph. Retrieved 15 July 2016. 2:19am 'Driver was 31-year-old from Nice' The local newspaper, Nice-Matin, reports that the man driving the truck was a 31-year-old Nice resident of Tunisian origin. The truck driver was said to have shouted 'Allahu Akbar' — God is greatest — before being shot dead by police.
  18. ^ Almasy, Steve (14 July 2016). "Live updates: Truck driver attacks crowd in Nice, killing dozens". CNN.
  19. ^ a b c d "Nice Terror Attack Victims' Names And Nationalities Revealed After France Bastille Day Massacre". International Business Times. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  20. ^ a b c d "Dozens killed during Bastille Day celebrations". BBC News. 15 July 2016.
  21. ^ "The Latest: Truck is new dimension of attacks in Europe". WFIE. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  22. ^ "Nice attack: Julie Bishop confirms three Australians injured in 'horrific' terrorist assault". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  23. ^ a b c "One Belgian among the victims in Nice". De Redactie. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  24. ^ "Two Chinese injured in Nice attack". Xinhua News Agency. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  25. ^ "The Latest: Neighbors: police raided suspect's old address". WBRC. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  26. ^ "Who were the Nice attack victims?". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  27. ^ "Terror in Nice: Details of victims emerge". WUSA. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  28. ^ "Nice: 'Serious concerns' over Irishman caught up in attack". BBC News.
  29. ^ "At Least Three Moroccans Killed in Nice Attack". Morocco World News. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  30. ^ "Dwie Polki wśród ofiar zamachu w Nicei. Znamy szczegóły" (in Polish). Onet.pl.
  31. ^ "Governo confirma um português entre os feridos do atentado de Nice". Jornal de Negócios (in Portuguese). Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  32. ^ "Who are the victims of the Nice terror attack?". The Daily Telegraph. 15 July 2016.
  33. ^ "What We Know About The Victims Of The Attack In Nice". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  34. ^ "The number of victims of the terrorist attack Ukrainian increased in Nice". Ukrayinska Pravda (in Ukrainian). 15 July 2016.
  35. ^ "France reels as Bastille Day attack leaves 84 dead in Nice". Associated Press.
  36. ^ a b "Nice attack: Dozens killed during Bastille Day celebrations". BBC News.
  37. ^ "Three Germans on school trip 'among Nice terror victims'". The Local. Germany. 15 July 2016.
  38. ^ "Berlin students reportedly among dead in Nice". DW.com. 15 July 2016.
  39. ^ Cockburn, Harry. "Nice attack: Many Muslims reportedly among 84 killed by lorry". The Independent. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  40. ^ "Nice terror attack: Truck driver who killed 84 named as 'loner' French-Tunisian criminal who 'became depressed' when wife left him as police question estranged spouse". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  41. ^ "Nice: 'Ma mère est morte dans l'attentat. Elle pratiquait un vrai islam'". L'Express (in French). Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  42. ^ "Here's What We Know About The Suspect In The Nice Attack". BuzzFeed.
  43. ^ a b c "Bastille Day attack in Nice". BBC. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  44. ^ Sinnott, John. "#PortesOuvertesNice: City reacts to terror". CNN. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  45. ^ Mezzofiore, Gianluca. "#PortesOuvertesNice offers accommodation for survivors of Nice attack". Mashable. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  46. ^ "#PortesOuvertesNice, le hashtag pour offrir et demander de l'aide". Le Huffington Post (in French). Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  47. ^ "Nice: Holland returned from Avignon and goes directly to the Crisis place Beauvau". France 3. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  48. ^ "LIVE. 'Terrorist' attack in Nice: Holland will extend state of emergency". L'Express. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  49. ^ "'Numerous victims' triggered the Orsec plan, announces Minister of the Interior". L'Obs. Retrieved 14 July 2016.

External links

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